US President Donald Trump can be seen on TV from a video message released on Twitter, seen in an empty Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC on January 6, 2020.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said early Thursday on Thursday that he was willing to allow an “orderly transfer of power” just minutes after Congress formally confirmed Joe Biden’s election as president.
A statement by the president on Twitter via Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications Dan Scavino echoed unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud, but included the reversal.
“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts confirm me, there will be an orderly transition on January 20th. I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it is only the beginning of our struggle to make America great again! “
The statement followed dramatic scenes on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, with pro-Trump supporters storming the building, forcing a lockdown, and lawmakers seeking shelter.
Overnight, Congress reconvened and formally confirmed Biden’s election. The confirmation came after the House of Representatives and the Senate, in two separate ballots in both houses, overwhelmingly rejected attempts by some Republicans to object to the acceptance of election college victories for Biden in Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Biden, a Democrat, and his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris, got 306 votes in the Electoral College, 36 more than it took to secure the White House victory. Trump, a Republican, received 232 votes.
—CNBCs Dan Mangan, Jacob Pramuk and Kevin Breuninger contributed to the reporting of this story.